Test first, build later

WHAT IS A SMOKE TEST?

A Smoke Test is a way to assess product/market fit, it is used to gauge the potential demand for a product, before it gets released, or even built.

It is the most accurate way to evaluate the potential of a business idea without incurring in the costs of actually taking it to market. In essence, a Smoke Test consists in sending traffic (from the target audience you want to reach) to a website that looks exactly like the one that should offer the product you intent to build. Users reactions to both the traffic mechanisms and the website itself provide key insights such as conversion rates and buyer intent, that either confirm or disprove the initial market and product assumptions. With such insight, the original business idea can be fine-tuned, launched or discarded altogether, according to the Smoke Test results.